So little time Published Dec. 7, 2010 By Col. Rusty Wilson 721st Mission Support Group commander CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN AIR FORCE STATION, Colo. -- It seems just the other night I was turning off the front porch light after having spent a considerable bit of time trekking though our dusk-veiled neighborhood escorting a young Saint George "The Dragon Slayer" and an even younger ninja. Upon our return, the three of us were regaled with stories of various sports heroes, monsters, witches, princesses, high school football players without costumes and other prowling aspiring young souls visiting our house and asking that seemingly universal question "Trick or Treat?" After the stories, the dragon slayer and ninja began taking inventory of what they had "earned." At this point, I had an epiphany...this would be a great opportunity to teach the kids about taxes. Despite the ensuing protest, everything was going pretty well; "The more candy you collected, the higher your tax bracket" was my last explanation before federal mom rolled in and shut down my little tax experiment. Since that evening, there has been church, work and school; cross-country practice, football games, work, Boy Scout and American Heritage Girl meetings, religious education and work. Before I knew it, it was Veterans Day. My second oldest, John, and I started the morning placing flags in the yards of folks that had made arrangements with his Boy Scout troop. From there, he humbled me (again) on an ascent up the incline. On the way home, I informed him he'd be attending an event honoring our veterans with me. Admittedly John wasn't too thrilled at the prospect, but seeing veterans from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm and even our more recent war on terrorism, and hearing Admiral Winnefeld, NORAD NORTHCOM commander, speak, highlighted the truly profound meaning of the day. John was glad he made the time to go. Now, unless my ears and eyes are deceiving me, I'm already seeing and hearing signs of Christmas. Holy smokes, I thought Christmas was still a ways off. So what is the point? The point is we are all extremely busy these days. The demands of executing our respective missions and duties can often put stress on our personal lives. Toss in a deployment, pursuing that next degree or completing professional military education/training and we conceivably reach a point where we simply do not have enough time. How do we cope? First, understand you are not alone; we are a community of teams, you've got a wingman. Whatever might be the case, chances are there are folks nearby willing to lend a hand. At work I rarely get everything done I'd like to get done, but we've got to set priorities and tackle the challenges as we can. Fortunately, I work with a group of wonderful people and they make sure we attack those "must do" tasks. Nonetheless, in today's environment we are working with less people and even finding ourselves charting previously unknown waters as more and more of the processes we previously relied on other folks to complete have been moved onto our plate via some automated format. I understand the necessity, but I really do struggle with carving out the time for all the various demands. There comes a point where each of us has to make time for ourselves. Please don't think I'm looking to diminish our core value of "Service Before Self." Quite the contrary, I fully recognize that in order to execute our professional duties and obligations, we will on occasion have to do so over personal desires. However, if we do so to the point of self neglect, then problems, big problems, are going to occur. Many of us wear a uniform, but that is not always going to be the case. One day the uniform will come off, but not so with our relationships or, more pointedly, our families and friends. Neglect in these areas, because we are too busy at work can have both immediate and long-term effects making us ineffective at work. While it may be difficult, time has to be found to nurture those relationships. I've been privileged to attend many military and civilian retirements, even humbly honored to preside at more than a few, and every time I am struck by a couple common themes. Almost without fail, the retiree will comment on how quickly time has passed (note to self). Additionally, they'll mention they cannot thank all the people that meant so much to them throughout their career. Flowers and gifts accompany testaments to their families. The examples of support, encouragement and sacrifice their families and friends have provided and endured are always moving, but the individual's acknowledgement truly illustrates how dependant we all are on the relationships we have built over the years. Like those families, your job needs you at your best. To keep our head in the game, in addition to a balance on the relationship front, we've got to keep the body fit. The Air Force has recognized the importance of fitness in today's military and implemented a new program that has increased the potential for stress on individuals. The standards are clear, but if those of us in the military are not finding the time to meet and exceed those standards, then we're setting ourselves up for failure that can and will cut across multiple areas of our personal and professional lives. But all standards aside, our minds and bodies need us to break away from the routine in pursuit of exercising the body. In addition to physical benefits of doing so, it can help on the mental/stress side of things. While I may scare the dickens out of any wildlife within a mile or so radius with my wheezing and gasping, my occasional runs up the mountain really do clear my mind. I even think the induced lack of oxygen helps me come up with all sorts of good ideas to spring on my staff. Some of us also pursue a spiritual balance based upon our beliefs. Again, the time has to be found and not doing so can put us out of balance causing stress to creep into other facets of our life. Personally, my family and our church help me to keep things in perspective. Similarly, each of you needs to find your niche and those relationships can oftentimes be the trailhead to get you to the right spiritual place, which is different for everyone. Finally it is on you...those internal conversations, that self respect, that motivation to step up to the next challenge. Earlier I mentioned we all have a wingman. In kind, we are wingmen to those around us; some we may not even be fully aware of. We are rapidly moving into the holiday season, certainly a joyful time of the year for many, but potentially a trying and stressful time for many as well. To be a good wingman, we need to be alert to those around us, but we also need to carve out the time necessary for ourselves to make sure we are dependable and capable if called upon. If you find yourself in a cloud or having other difficulties coping, please don't hesitate to talk to your wingman, a chaplain, or even our mental health clinic. They are all there for each of us and ready to help. Just make the time.